People's past experiences and personal stories can influence risk-taking behaviour

Stories of events form an integral part of the social context in which disasters are interpreted, made sense of and can influence risk-taking behaviour. However, ‘heroic’ stories can have a darker side in the context of natural disasters when they become part of myths or are used to bolster risk-taking activities. Such stories have the potential to undermine the safety messages of governments and emergency services organisations. This paper explores three narratives from historical disaster events to consider if social narratives offer avenues to reduce risk-taking behaviours during emergency events.